LM Feb.2021_lo

• County Facilities Sales Tax—A robust campaign effort to pass a sales tax to fund facilities upgrades in our schools netted $52 million and allowed for 100% of our buildings to have HVAC installed • External Grant Funding—To be proactive in the face of budget limitations, the district researched, applied for and received $13.75 million in external grant funding to aid our efforts in providing innovative and meaningful programming to prepare students for the 21st Century workplace • Graduation Rate—The graduation rate for PPS students has increased from 65% in 2015 (my first year as Superintendent) to 80% in 2020. I am also proud to say our graduation rate for black students has increased from 58% to 78% during that same period. • Freshmen On Track—The freshmen on track rate in PPS has increased from 74% in 2016 to 88% percent in 2020. • International Baccalaureate (IB)—Enrollment in the IB program has increased from 102 to 112 students and is known throughout the region as one of the most rigorous high school programs • D2—Our D2 Diploma-Degree program allows our high school students to purse both their high school diploma and an Associate’s degree from Illinois Central College during their junior and senior year, allowing them to graduate high school with their diploma and a degree. Our first cohort of the D2 program will graduate this May, and I am so excited to see this first group reach the finish line and show the pathway to success for our younger students. • SEL—Opening the Wraparound Center in South Peoria to address the social emotional needs of PPS students, their families and the Peoria community is one of my proudest accomplishments. Our Wraparound Center continued to be an invaluable resource to both PPS families and the greater Peoria community during the pandemic as a one-stop shop for social, employment and other services. The pantry alone served 200 people per week through the year. • Virtual—Our largest school by enrollment at the end of 2020 was not any of our physical buildings, but our PPS Virtual School. This virtual platform, which was being used as a pilot Online Academy program prior to the pandemic, allowed students whose parents did not opt for in-person instruction to learn in a virtual setting with a PPS teacher Dr. Sharon Desmoulin- Favorite Accomplishme

Q A Desmoulin-Kherat ... cont’d.

What is your leadership style or philosophy? Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts says John Maxwell. It is about one life influencing another, and I agree. I love

the Servant Leadership traits of empowerment, service, accountability, purpose, humility and collaboration. Your mother had a tremendous influence on you growing up. What were the most important lessons you learned from her? 1. Financial Literacy—She taught me how to be frugal (lol). I think she coined the term “save for a rainy day.” She could take $1 and split that baby into many parts and say 50 cents for this, 25 cents for that, 10 cents for this and so on. I listened and learned. She was just amazing! My district benefitted from my frugal mannerism. 2. Work Ethic—She was an amazing cook. She woke up every day at 4 a.m. to begin cooking all sorts of dishes. I remember the police chief; the postmaster and others would swing by to get their dinners on their way home. She was also a businesswoman involved in a carnival project with over 32 other vendors for over 40 years. Growing up, I noticed that we were always the first to arrive, last to leave and most creative with our decorations, food and drinks. I was just a kid who wanted to sleep more, so I would ask her about why we had to be the first one, and she would explain how the early birds catch the worms. She was a leader in finding ways to maximize profit. 3. Creativity—She made her own seasonings, hot sauce, local drinks like passion fruit juice, ginger beer, sorrel, sea moss, guava berry and more. All were high quality and in demand. My sisters are continuing that tradition using her recipes.

8 LM February 2021